Taxi and Private Hire Trade (2)

David Kurten: Do you agree that TfL should allow taxis to continue to purchase Euro 6 diesel vehicles which the rapid charging infrastructure is inadequate, as you do for Private Hire trade?

The Mayor: No. Taxis are a high contributor to pollution in central London. As they are exempt from the Ultra Low Emission Zone (unlike Private Hire Vehicles), it is vital to focus efforts on delivering the greenest taxi fleet as soon as possible.
Since 1 January 2018, Transport for London (TfL) has required all taxis presented for licensing for the first time to be zero emission capable (ZEC), and I am pleased that we now have more than 1,200 of these vehicles in the capital’s fleet. To support the uptake of these cleaner, greener vehicles, TfL has already delivered more than 170 rapid charge points with 68 of these dedicated to taxis. TfL plans to deliver 300 by the end of 2020, in addition to many other independently funded rapid chargers.
This expanding network aims to help the taxi and private hire trades by providing drivers with the charging infrastructure they need to switch to cleaner models. TfL monitors usage levels for the Rapid Charge points that it has helped to install. To date, usage data shows that even the most popular charge points are not yet at full utilisation levels.
TfL’s current target is to have delivered 300 rapid charge points by the end of 2020, while continuing to encourage independent charge point providers to install rapid chargers where appropriate.
Private Hire Vehicles will of course also need to play their part in tackling London’s polluted air. This includes complying with the Ultra Low Emission Zone and adhering to stricter licensing requirements, as set out here: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/emissions-standards-f....

Compliance Officers

Keith Prince: The Head of Compliance has also said that he may have to reduce the number of Officers which are already short of the 250 promised in the Mayor’s Taxi & PH Plan. Can you give assurances that the number of Compliance Officers will not drop and that Taxi & PH Enforcement will not go back to being ‘woefully inadequate’?

The Mayor: In 2017, Transport for London (TfL) met my commitment by having recruited 250 new taxi and private hire compliance officers. As with any operation, it is necessary to review the level of resources needed, based on the issues that are presented. Over the past two years, TfL has made significant improvements in compliance and enforcement, and they intend to build on this to deliver enforcement in a more efficient, flexible and effective way.
TfL is currently consulting with its Compliance, Policing and On-Street Service Directorate (CPOS) staff on proposals for organisational change. This includes taxi and private hire compliance officers.
These officers are part of a wider on-street compliance and enforcement operation. TfL’s proposals mean we could have up to 420 multi-skilled on-street officers to support taxi and private hire work, supported by a robust tasking and deployment process. This is a significant increase on the 82 compliance officers available for taxi and private hire-specific work in August 2016.

Sexual Harassment on Tube/Report it Stop it Campaign

Unmesh Desai: You have previously advised that the ‘Report it Stop It’ campaign to encourage the reporting of sexual harassment on the tube is coming to an end in March. What evaluation have you made of the campaign and can you advise if there is a plan to build upon this good piece of work or re-run the campaign in the future?

The Mayor: Tackling sexual offending and making the transport environment feel safe for everyone remains a priority for Transport for London (TfL) and its police partners.
The Report It to Stop It marketing campaign is an initiative within the wider Project Guardian. Project Guardian is an ongoing partnership commitment which involves a programme of activity including enhanced policing, investigation and victim support, communications including the ‘Report It to stop It’ campaign research, and staff and officer training to eradicate unwanted sexual behaviour from London’s public transport network. Project Guardian has been successful in its efforts to raise public awareness of this issue and improving victim confidence to report. It has led to the number of reports to police doubling to more than 2,000 since it was launched in 2013.
Building on the success of Project Guardian, TfL is working with its police partners to move from a victim-based approach, which focussed on improving victim confidence to report, to a more offender-based approach and action plan, directly targeting offenders.
TfL is currently reviewing how to take forward this successful campaign. TfL will make a decision on next year’s campaigns and initiatives as part of its priority and budget-setting process for 2019/20, currently underway.

Greater London Investment Fund

Susan Hall: Can you explain how you decided the size and priorities of each 4 sub-funds that comprise the Greater London Investment Fund (GLIF)?

The Mayor: The size and priorities of the sub-funds were based on recommendations from two independent studies - one carried out by Regeneris Consulting and European Investment Bank; and another by PwC, focusing on support for circular economy businesses.
These studies, which can be viewed using the web link below, provided an assessment of the failures affecting London’s SME finance market and proposed suitable delivery structures to address the needs of businesses.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/660273/The_London_SME_Fund_Ex_Ante_Assessment.pdf
A subsequent review of GLIF’s funding model resulted in the establishment of three sub-funds; one for equity finance and the other two providing debt funding. The overall size of GLIF is £100 million: £45 million is allocated to the equity sub-fund and £27.5 million is allocated to each of the loan sub-funds.